?As a T1 Diabetic, you need people to understand, to listen and to be there when it?s hard to keep a bright face. My family have been great – they always have been, and always will be. My mum and dad were there from the moment I was diagnosed and have been through some really tough times with me. For example, when I was 15 we were flying to the US. I started being very sick during the flight and we didn?t deal with my medication properly.?
Luci developed Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), a potentially life-threatening complication of Diabetes where a shortage of insulin burns fatty acids which in turn produces acidic ketone bodies. As a result, CMR?s Luci went into a coma for a week. ?Fortunately, I was fine and it was a lot worse for my family seeing me go through it than it was for me being unconscious, but this illustrated the dangers of my condition and as a result, my family will never brush it under the carpet.?

Chatting?with the naturally bright and gregarious Luci,?you can?assume that managing T1 Diabetes comes easily to her. And while it’s true that Luci?has great control, that’s only half the story.?For example, Luci suffers from Diabetic Retinopathy ? a common condition of long term T1 patients where high blood sugars damaging the back of the eye can cause blindness. Luci has to go to the eye clinic every three months and her overall condition is assessed twice a year. On occasions where she?s feeling low, an online chat with a fellow T1 can raise her spirits. ?It?s really nice to have a chat with someone who totally gets it.?

Support for Luci’s Diabetes has also come through her employer – Creative Medical Research. CMR has carried out Diabetes-device market research studies with thousands of T1 Diabetics, and as a result, Luci feels very engaged with her work. ?I?m very lucky in that my colleagues really understand Diabetes. It?s always interesting to see the kinds of devices that our clients provide us to work with and our research team have an incredible firsthand knowledge of what life is like for T1 patients. If their work can help manufacturers create better medical devices, if not for me, then future generations of T1 Diabetes patients, then that?s a pretty good incentive to get out of bed in the morning.?

To learn more about what it’s like to live with Type 1 Diabetes, take a look at Luci’s other blogs:

• My Diabetes story Part 1: Childhood
• My Diabetes story Part 2: DAFNE
• My Diabetes story Part 3: Hypos
• My Diabetes story Part 4: Motherhood